Traditionally, most data in field force industries (e.g., field sales, field services, inspection and reporting, etc.) is distributed and captured on paper-based forms. The data entered on paper-based forms was typically returned to the business office to be manually entered electronically and integrated with a back office system. Furthermore, an enterprise business process might require the captured data to be reviewed by other members of the organization (e.g., authorization, up sell opportunity, billing, etc.) before, during, or after the field has interacted with the data. The process of distributing, updating, capturing, and returning form data and adapting it to a unique business process applies to a large number of mobile workers performing a variety of tasks such as, but not limited to, data collection solutions for inspections (e.g., property, health, etc.), field sales solutions reporting (e.g., lead capture, timesheet, expense reports, etc.), and field services solutions such as work order dispatches (e.g., HVAC, insurance claims, etc.).
Typically, in more complex forms-based business processes, work requests and form data are initially dispatched to field force workers using a voice channel (e.g., cell phone) or pre-printed paper forms (e.g., clipboard) that is then manually filled out or updated by the mobile worker (e.g., technician). A completed work request might also require one or many subsequent requests (e.g., required parts, required authorization, up-sell opportunities, etc.) that are typically done through a call over a cellular phone, or return trip to the office, or may cause the displacement of the mobile worker. In addition, field inspectors may also capture data in the field using a series of paper forms and binders to complete their inspection tasks, resulting in a slow and inefficient process.
Businesses incur high wireless voice and vehicle fleet costs due to the above-described processes used in dispatching field workers, capturing or updating form data, and completing work orders or inspection forms in the field. Additionally, there are significant costs and inefficiencies with slow, manual processes for the exchange of data using paper-based forms, from the cost of the paper based forms, to duplicate data entry, to errors made in data capture on paper, to waiting for the person with the data to update another person or system, etc.
In order to reduce the use of paper, electronic forms may be used in conjunction with mobile devices such as portable computers. However such electronic forms and XForms (XML Forms) solutions (e.g., Adobe LiveCycle, Microsoft Infopath, FormDocs, Altova, Advantys, MDSI, X-Smiles, formsPlayer, and Novell XForms) are generally PC-centric and Local Area Network (LAN) oriented, as opposed to being optimized for mobile devices and wireless use. Additionally, these solutions are on-line and browser-centric, as opposed to being optimized for on- and off-line use over intermittently connected wireless networks with varying degrees of cost and quality of service. These solutions typically do not provide mechanisms for hosting multi-tenants (multi-domain) forms applications using a common IT infrastructure (e.g., Managed Service Provider hosted environment), nor do they have support for sophisticated routing and tracking of forms and policies that define a mobile forms application.
However, mobile devices are increasingly used for data collection as more and more mobile devices become available (laptops, cell phones, PDAs, tablet PCs, Ultra Mobile PCs, etc.) and as more and more content is available in electronic form (documents, email, pictures, commerce, videos, data etc.), and as access to devices and content becomes more and more ubiquitous (internet, wireless, etc.).
One challenge faced by organizations with a mobile workforce using such mobile devices to collect data is the timely and secure exchange of data. The collection of data using electronic forms has replaced paper forms in the computer environment. The availability of similar mobile solutions eliminates the need for use of paper in the field. Currently, trained programmers using a desktop-based design tool create forms based applications that work on mobile devices. Once the form is created, it is then installed on a mobile device along with any other enabling software and components. However, such mobile solution applications do not always match existing corporate procedures and forms which employees have familiarity with. A less than optimal solution is to have programmers “manually” program an application reflecting needed paper forms. This approach wastes programming resources and is not adaptable to changes in forms or business processes.
Thus there is a need for a user selected mobile-form application design interface. There is a further need for a customizable mobile-form template creation application. There is also a need for a system to provide ready distribution of custom mobile-form applications to mobile devices. There is another need for a web interface to allow a user to customize a mobile-form application without programming cost and time delays.